Daily AncestorJunior
Junior, or Jr., meant the younger of two men with the same name in a place; it did not always mean the son of the senior.
Junior simply means younger. Older records add Jr. to tell apart two men with the same name, and the pair were often father and son, but not always; they might be uncle and nephew or cousins.
Modern etiquette reserves Jr. for a son with exactly his father's name, but older clerks did not follow that rule. Do not assume a father-son link from Jr. and Sr. alone.
As seen in a recordWitness names on a deed, 1800s
Jno. Miller Jr. and Jno. Miller Sr., both of this township, witnesses.
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Daily Ancestor. "Junior." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/relationships/junior. Last checked 2026-10-01.